Mind-altering substances needn’t always come in the form of a pill, plant, capsule, tab, or tincture. Sometimes they come in the form of a crime novel. We’ve all read great mysteries, thrillers, and noir that created a prodigious shift in our perspective, mindset, or mood—even if only temporarily. Getting high on crime fiction is not…
In early 1996, I finally landed my first agent, a wonderful woman named Pam Bernstein, who shopped my debut thriller around to several publishers, all of whom turned it down because the book needed editorial work. Pam suggested an independent editor read the book, and she had just the person in mind—a man by the…
Ever since I discarded the Hardy Boys in favor of H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds as a grade-schooler, I have embraced the dark. From Ahab in Moby Dick to Alex in A Clockwork Orange to Sophie and Nathan in Sophie’s Choice, I gravitate toward stories that show humans at their most depraved and immoral.…
I am in awe of Truman Capote’s work. He is an exquisite writer. If you read Other Voices Other Rooms, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Music for Chameleons, which includes the brilliant novella “Handcarved Coffins,” you’ll see what I mean. They are literary classics.
I love the combination of cinema and literature. I studied English Literature and was a screenwriter before writing my first novel, The Silent Patient—a psychological thriller about a woman who shoots her husband five times and then never speaks again. I’ve been reading mystery writers like Agatha Christie since my childhood and I’ve always been…
When reading a book, there’s nothing quite like a pulsating pursuit to get you turning the pages. I’ve always loved the use of the cat-and-mouse chase as a plot device; the moment the tension boils over that sparks the frantic escape, the intense hunt, the heart-stopping near misses, the showdown between the hunter and the…
Just in time for Halloween, enter for a chance to win a copy of The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, plus a bookplate signed by the author!* *Fava beans and Chianti not included. * Country Select oneUnited StatesOther Sorry, you cannot enter at this time. * E-mail OFFICIAL RULES NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT…
Read this exclusive guest post from Jon Land, author of Strong Cold Dead, and make sure you're signed in and comment below for a chance to win the latest Caitlin Strong novel, a bookmark, and a beverage coozy! Since this is Criminal Element, after all, let’s confine our list to thrillers: action, crime, psychological, political,…
Serial killers, for better or for worse, are some of the more infamous characters in history. As fascination mixes with fear, the gruesome and torturous killings become the stuff of nightmares. We don't want to see, but we can't look away. Often, the killers revel in the spotlight — it's what drives them. Some even…
Read this exclusive guest post from Rachel Howzell Hall, author of the Detective Elouise Norton Mystery series, discussing how real-life crimes have inspired many of her novels, and then make sure you're signed in and comment for a chance to win a copy of Land of Shadows, Skies of Ash, and Trail of Echoes! In 2014,…
